mattabv Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 Well technology is all around us, for good or bad. I attended the Madison class looking for validity in the Istills place in the industry. Well as a traditional distiller I can say that the theoretical and practical aspects of distillation have not been altered by the addition of a ROBOT, the ease and consistency of producing and replicating product seems to have been achieved. This by no means should imply it will make you a distiller overnight there are too many other phases of distilling such as mashing, fermenting, blending and marketing to name a few the ROBOT can not do for you, however it does free up much needed time to delegate to these chores. I was told a quote, wont tell you who told me or who was being quoted but it went like this. " somewhere between the romance of distilling and profitability you will find the Istill." Well yes as well any other system, experience and Knowledge to need accompany the Istill as any other, the one factor following this still is ease, consistency and a real time management tool. For anyone entering the industry the Istill and its technology should be explored and considered, however there will always be the need for romance in distilling for many of us. This is the classical art form we were born into, The Istill for the future distillers could create a whole new modern/futuristic art form. I have always been a non conformist/ traditionalist and proud to be one. The Istill is just one of the many new innovations out there to explore and drive the industry into bottles never seen before. Honestly, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGL Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 3 hours ago, Odin said: Here's a short post about the Avonak Distillery from Texas and their iStill 5000 and 500: https://istillblog.com/2017/12/28/avonak-distillery-from-texas/ And here is their Fb-page: https://www.facebook.com/drinkavonak/ Regards, Odin. Their recent facebook post says they are getting an impossible 194 proof. What is the actual proof your still makes after temperature and hydrometer correction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversmith Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Our Istill 500 [first generation] just cruises with our neutral runs. We do a quick stripping run followed by a neutral run, with excellent results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGL Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 5 hours ago, Odin said: Hi M, Confusion may come from % vs. proof and ABW (alcohol by weight) vs. ABV (alcohol by volume). Many in the USA work with proof and often mistake 190 proof (95%) for the maximum possible yield, maybe confusing it with what's the vodka requirement. ABV-wise 96.5% is about the highest possible. I say "about", since not all literature completely agrees. Some say 96.6%, others 96.7%. I am pretty sure that Kyle's measurement is an okay reading. Well, as far as that I can say from my experience and of others. Our iStills make maximum abv, proof, whatever you want to call it. If you dial in the vodka program that is. 96.7% plus maybe a slight bit more or less because all measuring devices have some deviation. 0.1 or 0.2%. That makes the 97% or 194 proof as shown perfectly possible. In reality - bound by the laws of physics - I'd say it's probably 96.7% or 193.4 proof. Even though slight differences in air pressure may also cause a beef up (or down) of another 0.1 or 0.2%. Yeah, the 194 or 97% is something I also see on a regular basis. I have some pics to show for it. But am currently having dinner on the way back from xmass vacation with the family in Hungary. Maybe after the weekend! Regards, Odin. The photo shows a $10 hydrometer without a thermometer in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Very cool, but I think it should be made clear such automations are to make operations easy for a distiller, and not to promote unattended operation of a still. As an industry, we should have zero tolerance for unattended still operation, as no amount of automation or SCADA can replace a watchful eye, and no technology is failsafe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Another side to this. YES to easier operations for distiller and I agree to the concept of unattended still operation, but here's another angle. 1 Desperately important to make the same product 100% the same next time. 2 The ability to tweak the still performance for improved operation. And most importantly of all, the process can be left to an underling of less capability. +1 million % important. It becomes a tool of production. Having our cider plant Kegging and bottling totally automated, has resulted in serious quality improvement. This too will shortly apply to our fully automated distilling plant which is also on the LM concept.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenlyon Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 295 euros per bottle. Wow, that's $438 per bottle Canadian! Break out those tulip bulbs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Hey it's a different and novel approach, but I can not see it working efficiently in that you will not reach acceptable / comparable extract. Basically you are trying to simulate a mashtun and lautertun combination. With beer you agitate the mash and heat for the various conversion steps. Post that it would pass to the lautertun and then onto the wort kettle. So in your case there is no mash for agitation because it has been left behind in the extractor. Also there is no real bed to drain from / through, nor is sparging possible. Ultimately there are going to be terrible losses to contend with. Worst of all, there is is a tonne of spent grain to remove from the extractor. But a great effort and you won't know it until you try it. I have often thought about this and I would have performed all in the kettle and then considered placing a strainer post the kettle whilst pumping / transferring to another vessel for spent grain removal and prior to cooking (wort kettle) and then transferring back to the kettle. That's my sixpence worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 How did you go about degassing the BEER. Partial heating and excessive agitation prior to distilling ?? Gas within the beer results in excessive foaming and flooding of the column. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Any news on your whisky movie , ....mashing and fermenting ....that you promised some time back ?? @Odin Posted February 5 Making a movie on how to mash, ferment, and distill single malt whisky. Should be ready early next week. We'll upload it when it is done and will let you know. All processes will take place in one machine. Regards, Odin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffw Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 That lab still is pretty bad ass. What is pricing like for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Thought you might like this .... someone's beer in SA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I was a bit slow with Panoramix trying to figure that one out. Still read these today. Brilliant stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGL Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Are u ever doing steam jackets and larger columns? The run times on those electric 2000 liter must be long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Very nice video. Waiting on edge of stool for episodes 2 & 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Once you figure out how to remove the tear-strip on a grain bag, you'll never use scissors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 A quick query on your cracked malt that you used......... Surely it was not milled fine enough i.e. basically flour. I say this because; The finer you mill it the more flavour is realised You have no lauter tun so are not worried about blockage of a false bottom You no doubt will be fermenting and distilling on the grain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still_Holler Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 On 6/25/2018 at 3:08 PM, Odin said: Keynote 2018/1 will be on July 17th. Loads of innovations to share! Is this an online thing or in person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still_Holler Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Do you know if there will be another workshop in the USA in 2018? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 Interesting recipe. If you for fermentation were to instead use fresh cane juice, would you use the same amount of yeast. I know by previous posts that you really like to use bakers yeast, but is there any other better or recommended yeast for an improved taste profile. Lastly would you during fermentation advocate agitation after the remaining yeast is sprinkled on surface top. Cheers, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graffy Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 That is some nice looking stainless! What pressure to you design and hydrotest the water side of the shotgun condenser to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graffy Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 You must be mistaken. 20 bar? Our city water pressure is about 4 bar (58 psi). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 A question Odin .... Are you able to do essential oil distillation with your standard stills or how much of a variation is required. Some thoughts on this. ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard1 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Hi Odin I am talking about essential oil distillation .... steam extraction of essential oils from plant materials ... for example see below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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